This one is going in a few of my playlists. 🙂 I have a connective tissue disorder (genetic) which causes my tendons and ligaments to be easily injured and they don't "snap back" when they do heal, which js often twice as long as it would take for others. Consequently, my muscles do a lot of the joint support work - which they were NOT designed to do - and I often have knots forming, subluxation, restriction of movement from muscle cramps and spasms, and so on. I wish I could afford weekly massages, but I do get biweekly medical massages from my chiropractors office (no cracking, he uses an activator and gentle manual pressure to put the joints back in place), which smooths out the knots but we're careful not to relax the muscles so much that they cause the joints to not have the necessary support. When one of the massage tgerapists had just started, she was still learning what the right amount of pressure was for me. After seeing her and my chiropractor to make sure I was lined up again for the next ew weeks, I realized I felt really relaxed. I thought it was just a new person with a new technique. Nope. My chiropractor watched out the window as I left, went down the few steps to tge sidewalk, then opened the door and told me to come back inside because going down those four steps was enough to undo the pelvic upslip correction he had done. He adjusted it again and we actually had an ice pack on the area to tighten up the muscles a bit again for stability. I've done physical therapy for the glutes, shoulder, neck, knees, almost every body part, it seems, and I do my own at home trigger point therapy, exercises, body mechanics/posture work, use a sit stand desk with an under desk elliptical when I have to sit, all sorts of things.
Now, there are many people my age with this condition who are in wheelchairs or braces much of the day (I brace when necessary and joke I need a separate closet for my collection of braces for different body parts). I am medical retiring from my job at the end of this month because the long commute, even with orthopedic pillows, is just not physically possible for much longer. Like you, I want to remain active and mobile as much as I can until the day I die. My body is amazing, and it has been quietly going about the business of adjusting and coping with the various challenges I don't even know I have, such that it hurts when we get things properly aligned again to prevent a snowball effect of other muscle issues.
My body and I have a deal, a good working partnership. Only one of us can flip out at a time. (Not using that in any clinical mental health sense - which is my profession - just colloquial usage.) If my body's muscles are spasming or inherent issues going on, my mind remains calm and works out how best to support my body, then kicks my body into gear to make that happen. If my mind is spinning and overwhelmed, my body informs me we need to go for a walk or do some Feldenkrais, or simply grab my camera and go outside to take pictures as part of my Contemplative Photography practice (or do some forest bathing [shinrin yoku] if available). We are an excellent team.
Yet my body would keep me going even if I paid no attention to it. Might not be as long or as well as I'd like, but it is so adaptable, it would simply keep on going until it physically couldn't anymore. I am constantly humbled and awed by how fragile/strong/responsive/resilient it is.
Now if I could just get it to remember that there is no need to tense up and guard movement after it's been smoothed out, because I practice somatic and proprioceptive awareness virtually all day long nowadays. I love these body-centered reminders of how how incredible the human body is. It helps put many things into perspective for me and renews my drive to keep it functioning as best I can.
Thank you so much for sharing thus with us here. I see you and the light within you. Be well. 🤲🏻❤🤲🏻
